France could lose the manufacturing of Doliprane, which Sanofi will sell to an American investment fund. But in reality, it is above all security of supply which must be a priority.
While Sanofi has decided to hand over the manufacturing of Doliprane to an American investment fund (CD&R), is France at risk of one day running out of this drug? It’s very unlikely. There are two subjects: the subject of production and the subject of supply. It should be remembered that the active ingredient in Doliprane, paracetamol, is not made in France. It has not even been made in Europe since 2009 (India, China). And for years, there was no shortage of it. The Lisieux factory only packages paracetamol in the form of Doliprane.
So its closure must be avoided, because one more factory in France is always an asset, but it is not a strategic factory for supply. We will start manufacturing paracetamol again in France from 2025, near Toulouse.
Business Cyprus: Doliprane under the US flag, is it serious? – 14/10
France buys less expensively than its neighbors
But whether Doliprane is produced in France or elsewhere, that in no way changes the issue of security of supply. And in particular in paracetamol. The problem is that France buys Doliprane from pharmaceutical labs 25% cheaper than its European neighbors. And therefore if there is a supply problem, as we experienced after Covid, France will not necessarily be favored.
What can the State do? One of the reasons which explains its passivity is firstly because the subject is supply, more than production. The government’s challenge is to obtain extremely strong commitments from the new buyer to reassure the future of the factory, to avoid having to resort to the foreign investment control procedure which could potentially block the takeover. of control by a foreign company. This has already been used six times, but it is extremely hazardous to pilot…
